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Willie Wood
Washington, D.C. | died = February 3, 2020 (age 83) | college= USC | draft=Undrafted | drafted_by=Undrafted | teams= | jerseys= | retired = }} William Vernell Wood Sr. (born December 23, 1936) was a former American football safety for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL), and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. College career After graduating from Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C. in 1956, Wood went west and played college football in southern California, playing his freshman year at Coalinga Junior College and was a junior college All-American. He transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1957 and played for the Trojans under first-year head coach Don Clark, where he was the first African American quarterback in the history of the Pacific Coast Conference and its successor AAWU, now the Pac-12 Conference. As a junior in 1958, he was sidelined with an injured shoulder, and as a senior in 1959, he separated his right shoulder and missed several games. NFL career Wood was not selected in the 1960 NFL draft, and wrote a letter to head coach Vince Lombardi to request a tryout; the Packers signed him as a rookie free agent in 1960. After a few days with the quarterbacks, he requested a switch to defense and was recast as a free safety, and was a starter in the season. He started until his retirement in 1971. Wood won All-NFL honors nine times in a nine-year stretch from 1962 through the 1971 season, participated in the Pro Bowl eight times, and played in six NFL championship games, winning all except the first in 1960. Wood was the starting free safety for the Packers in Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl I, he recorded a key interception that helped the Packers put the game away in the second half. In Super Bowl II, he returned five punts for 35 yards, including a 31-yard return that stood as the record for longest punt return in a Super Bowl until Darrell Green's 34-yard return in Super Bowl XVIII. He led the NFL in interceptions and punt return yards in 1962. Wood finished his 12 NFL seasons with 48 interceptions, which he returned for 699 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 1,391 yards and scored two touchdowns on 187 punt returns. He holds the record for the most consecutive starts by a safety in NFL history. Wood was also a punt returner throughout his career, averaging 7.4 yards per return in 187 attempts and scoring two touchdowns, both in 1961. He also had three kickoff returns for 20 yards (6.7 average) and kicked twice, missing a field goal and converting an extra point. Wood retired as a player after the 1971 season; he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. Coaching career After retiring as a player in January 1972, Wood became the defensive backs coach for the San Diego Chargers. In 1975, he was the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League (WFL) and became the first African-American head coach in professional football of the modern era in late July, days before the first game of the season. The Bell's season lasted only eleven games when the league folded in October. Wood was later an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League under Forrest Gregg, a Packer teammate. When Gregg left after the 1979 season for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, Wood became the first black head coach in the CFL, but after an 0–10 start in 1981, he was fired. Personal His son, Willie Wood, Jr., played for (1992–1993) and later coached the Indiana Firebirds in the Arena Football League, after coaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C. Willie Wood Jr. is currently the wide receiver/defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Wood lived in Washington, D.C. and has had replacement knee surgery; he suffered from dementia and forgetfulness. In March 2012, a block of N Street NW in D.C. (38.9072°N 77.012°W) was named "Willie Wood Way." Wood died on February 3, 2020. Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:Green Bay Packers safeties Category:Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl players Category:Green Bay Packers Super Bowl I champions Category:Green Bay Packers Super Bowl II champions Category:Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame inductees Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees